Opinion

A pre-existing failure

Just like the pledge that premiums wouldn’t go up, another key ObamaCare promise is coming a cropper: that Americans with pre-existing medical conditions will be completely covered.

In his November 2009 address to Congress, President Obama said, “Under [this] plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition . . . [or] drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.”

That might be true when ObamaCare is fully implemented in January. In the meantime, people have to rely on a plan administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Well, guess what?

The CMS has announced that it has run out of money to enroll any more individuals in the program. So it is blocking states from accepting any more applications.

It’s a sweet political irony, but it’s not funny to those stuck without insurance.

In response, senior House Republicans last month sent the White House a letter outlining some possible solutions. As Majority Leader Eric Cantor told The Post during a recent visit, “ObamaCare has many broken promises. But this is one issue that we can address immediately without delay . . . Let’s reprogram the money to help people most in need right now.”

Will the White House fix it? The House GOP is still waiting for an answer.

In the meantime we are left with this: An Obama agency that offers a stop-gap insurance program is now doing exactly what Democrats accused the big, bad insurance companies of doing — opting not to cover certain people out of financial considerations.